Cassie and Vinnie
by Hellmanns
Summary: Looks like the producers decided to ditch Janine and add Cassie! Good news for Katie...does she have a crush on her costar? Uh, SHYAH!
1. Take a Bite Out Of Fame

RealTV  
"That's it, MAX, that's it..ok, now Katie, move a little closer, more - keep going - more, more, ok, MAX, take your hand - that's it! Perfect, perfect! Okay, now, juuust a little closer - you can feel his breath Katie - MAX, you're overcome, remember; yes, Katie, yes!! Ok, here goes - one, two, three, and-!"  
He kissed me. He kissed me so hard that I wasn't sure what to do or how to react. My hands were at my sides - I tried to move them, but my brain just wouldn't send the signal. Something wasn't right.  
And then it happened - I felt teeth sink into my bottom lip - and a harsh flash of pain surge through my mouth. I pulled away immediately, letting out a yelp of pain, and then suddenly I felt myself lose balance completely. I felt him try to hold me steady, but as he was probably in shock too, he wasn't able to keep me from crashing backwards into the set wall, nor keep himself from toppling right over onto me. His head made contact with the wall, and amidst many "ah!"s and "woah!"s we landed, me sitting with my back to the wall, and him head-first into my stomach.  
"Ouch!" My hand shot to my lip. He, realizing where he was and where his head was currently positioned, scurried off the floor like a frightened field mouse.  
"Oh my-! Oh, Lord, I'm SO - Oh, my God." he sputtered, offering his hand. I was licking my bottom lip to see if I could taste any blood. "Ah, geez." One look at his face could tell you that he had never been so embarrassed, humiliated, or horrified in his life. He covered it with one hand. "I am so. So. Sorry"  
Though he couldn't see my face, he could hear me laughing. "It's ok," I chuckled. "It really is. Hey, could I get a.?" I turned to the crew, who, being the crew, were practically on the floor laughing.  
"Wow, you're a real tiger, MAXie!" The director was in stitches. The rest of the crew were too busy trying to breathe to say anything. I had to admit that it WAS hysterical - it made my lip hurt a little less. As for my co-star, he looked too distraught to speak.  
"MAX, it's really ok, I promise!" I reassured, lightly touching his arm. He looked from my hand on his arm to my face, and said softly, "I can't believe I DID that.." I felt so bad for him at that moment I could have flung my arms around him and bit him back, just so I could share in the humiliation that he must have been feeling. But then he looked away, with this depressed expression on his face. "Oh, GOD.." He kind of stomped off the set, not angrily, but dejectedly, in that way he had of hunching his shoulders. There was none of the usual confident swagger in his step, and that's how I could tell that he was really upset.  
Well, I walked off the set too, smiling, but worrying a little about MAX, and heading straight for (where else?) makeup. I had spent countless hours there getting my hair and face camera-ready, but mostly chatting it up with Sofie. She was always there when I needed her - with, in this case, a wet rag and some disinfectant. "Oh my.." She started to say, and covered her mouth.  
"Yeah," I agreed. "It's a doosy!"  
She grinned. "Wow, he is an ANIMAL if I ever saw one! Boy, he must want you BAD, girl!"  
"Sofie!"  
"Look at those teeth marks! Look at the size of that thing!" She gazed at me as if I were a scientific specimen.  
"What are you talking about? He was just getting really into his character." I sat down in the swivel chair as she searched for disinfectant. She poked her head out of the cupboard she was looking in.  
"Um, I don't think so. I think he's really into YOU."  
"Do you.?" But I shook my head. "No, no way."  
"Uh-huh. I'm telling you, Katie, he does! I can totally tell."  
"Yeah, uh-huh. How?"  
"Well, like the way he always gets really nervous before he does a scene with you."  
"No he doesn't!"  
"Yeah, he does! Have you ever watched him right before he goes on?"  
"MAX never gets nervous - he's brilliant."  
"Didja look at him taday? Didja SEE that kid pacing back and forth like there was no tomorrow?"  
"Well, he seemed a little nervous today.just a little - but everybody gets nervous before a kissing scene." I looked at my hands in my lap. "I thought I was a lot more nervous than him, but then." I looked up to see Sofie eyeing me strangely.  
"You were nervous?" She shut the cupboard door. "But, you've got no reason to be, you've done lots of kissing scenes. You used to do 'em with Neil all the time, right?" My cheeks were turning red. "I know.but it's different with MAX. It's just - different." I couldn't look at her or else she would know.  
"Oh, no." Her eyes started to open very wide and she looked hard at me. "Don't tell me - you LIKE him!!"  
"Um." I could feel the burning in my cheeks all over my body. 'Well, now she knows,' I thought. 'Why try to hide it? I've got nothing to be ashamed of.'  
"Of COURSE I like him!! How could anyone NOT like him?!" 'Yes, how could anyone not like him?' I mused. But why did I have to feel this way about my co-star? I had asked myself this a thousand times. 'Everyone knows it'll never work out,' I thougth in the deepest secret place in my mind. 'Everyone knows relationships like that never amount to anything. And besides, he doesn't like me anyway.' This was why I couldn't tell anyone except Sofie. I groaned, exasperated, and let my head fall into my hands.  
"Hey, honey - it's okay! I ain't gonna tell him!" She tried to lift my head up. "Aw, come on - what'sa matter? This is awesome! He likes you, you like him.now all you need is to show it more." I could hear the smile in her voice. "You'll make such a cute couple! I can't wait to-"  
"No, we won't!" I looked up and let her see the tears that were about to fall. "We won't," I repeated, starting to cry softly, "we won't.he doesn't like me, I know he doesn't."  
Sofie gave me a hug. "Aw, honey, calm down, it's okay! Look, I'm tellin' you, everything's gonna turn out just fine."  
I lifted my head and tried to stop crying. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this.I.I don't know what's wrong with me!"  
"Hey, it's okay, it's gonna be alright, I promise. Hey," she added, smiling. "He does like you. I swear. It's so obvious!"  
"Th-thanks," I replied shakily. "Well, how come he's never said anything?"  
"He just shy around you - but he'll come around." She winked and handed me a cotton ball soaked with disinfectant. "Just blot that right up with this stuff and won't get a horrible disease!"  
"I've got something worse," I remarked, laughing.  
"You got the love bug." Sofie nodded, knowingly. "And you've got it bad." I whimpered.  
Knock knock knock.  
Sofie got up to answer the door. "It's probably Aaron - he said he'd come by as soon as his audition was done.OH! Hey, MAX!"  
'MAX?! OMG! What am I gonna do; I look horrible! He's gonna see.gonna know-'  
"Heya, Sof - Chris told me uh, Katie was here.can I uh, talk to her for a minute?"  
"Yeah, sure - she's right in here." Turning around to face me, she flashed me one of her "WHAT'D I TELL YA" glances, and pretended to be looking for something in the cabinet. I heard his footsteps before I turned around, still frantically drying my eyes and trying to pretend I hadn't been crying. Finally I stood up and about-faced to see him standing there, hands in pockets, nervous as ever.  
"Hey," he said.  
"Hey," I responded.  
"I'll be in wardrobe if ya need me!" Sofie gave me a reassuring wink and shut the door behind her. 'Don't leave me!' I thought frantically as I continued to blot my lip. Then I decided that that looked stupid, so I tossed the cotton ball, trying not to draw attention to it.  
"So, uh - how's the lip?" He kind of smiled when he asked that, and it put me more at ease.  
"Oh, it's fine, yeah. That was just - disinfectant." My palms were getting sweaty. Quickly I shoved my hands into my back pockets. He stared at me for a few seconds, then went on.  
"Yeah, I'm really really sorry about that - I dunno what happened, I just-" He stopped, looking flustered. I took a step towards him.  
"MAX, I'm fine, it doesn't even hurt.you don't need to be embarrassed."  
"Yes, I do." He looked at the floor, biting his lip. His head jerked up suddenly. "Listen, you wanna go ta lunch with me?"  
It felt like there were seagulls flying around in my stomach. Could this be happening? Did MAX really want to eat lunch with me?  
"Yeah, sure," I said loudly (maybe a bit too loudly), and grabbed my purse.  
"Alright," he smiled, and actually looked happy for the first time since we shot the kiss. "After you," he said as he ushered me out the door, his hand shadowing my waist. A rush of excitement surged through me.  
"We're goin' to lunch, Chris!" MAX yelled, as we headed out of the studio. The director looked over and laughed.  
"Watch yourself, Katie! His bite's worse than his bark!" 'Damn!' I thought. 'Why'd he have to start making comments NOW? I was making progress!' 


	2. Build Me Up, But Don't Break My Heart!

"Aw, put a lid on it." To my surprise, MAX just smiled and continued walking, holding the door for me as we exited into the parking lot. "So where you wanna go?" he asked politely, opening the passenger side door for me. "Oh, what service!" I joked, stepping in. He smiled and got in the driver's side. "Well, I don't really care where we go." "Sure ya do," he prodded, and put the key in the ignition. "We'll go wherevah you want." 'Am I dreaming this?' I wondered as I pondered the options. "Is Roy Rogers okay?" "Definitely! That's actually my favorite." "Really? Mine too!" 'Phew, thank God he likes it. Or maybe he's just lying. Maybe it's not his favorite...' My nerves were silenced by his voice. "You want me to put some music on, or somethin'?" "Yeah, sure." "It'll all there in the glove compartment. Or we could listen to the radio - whatever you prefer." "Ooh...let's see whatcha got in here." I opened the glove compartment to have audio casettes spill into my lap. "Wow, you sure got a lot in here." He looked over. "Well, yeah, but it's not a very wide selection...I dunno if ya gonna like it -" I started rummaging through the tapes. Frank Sinatra. Frank Sinatra. Classic oldies. Frank Sinatra. Nat King Cole. Frank Sinatra. I sighed internally. 'His taste in music is wonderful, too. How'm I ever gonna get over this guy?' "Oh, man - this is great! MAX, I love Frank." I picked up one of the Frank tapes and put it in the deck. "Do ya really?" He looked at me, pleasantly surprised. "That's rad, Katie." I couldn't help but smile when he said my name. His sharp yet raspy voice was one of the things that had first attracted me to him. I started singing quietly along with the music, until MAX stole a glance at me. "Hey, you got a really great voice there, Katie - you should use it fa somethin'." He seemed pleasantly surprised again, and I started to blush. "Thanks, but I really don't. I just love to sing, especially with Frank." I grinned. "No, I'm serious, ya really do have a good one." He paused. "Yeah, I love singin' wit Frank, too," he confessed as we pulled into the Roy Rogers parking lot. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as we walked towards the door, and he seemed nervous, pensive. It was either adorable or disturbing. He held the door for me once again and we got in line. Once we'd ordered our food (he inSISted on paying for mine as well as his), we sat at a small table in the very center of the restaurant. "So, Katie," he started, looking down at his drink, "is this whatchyou always wanted to do? Be an actress?" I nodded, as I had just taken a forkfull of salad. "Yeah, pretty much - but that's not all," I added. "I always wanted to-" I smiled timidly. "Well, it's always been a dream of mine to be on Broadway someday." He looked up, and those eyes, that face saw right through me. There was no way I could get over him if I was going to see that everyday. "No kiddin'," he said, a grin forming on his lips. "That's my dream, too." I looked up, smiling, and met his gaze for a full two seconds. It was almost too good to be true-and then it ended. He coughed and looked down again. His right hand wrapped around the side of our unsteady table. "Y'know, I've been doin' a lot of thinkin'," he began, frowning as if his mind was still hard at work, "thinkin' about the character Vinnie." It was as if it had taken a lot of effort to say that, but there was still more. "An' I don't quite know how ta make what I think he's goin' through come across...I was wonderin' if I could kinda bounce some ideas off you." I gulped. Was this why he had brought me to lunch? Character development?! And here I had thought.....I sighed quietly and prepared to have my heart broken. Forcing a smile, I answered as cheerily as I could. "Of course. Whadda you think Vinnie's going through?" Frowning, and with his arms outstretched on the table supporting his upper body, he licked his lips. "Welp," he began, and licked them again, "before, when he was with Janine, all she did was insult him-dat's not a relationship." I nodded. "-and because he's bein' treated like a loser, he feels like one, too...y'know what'm sayin'?" "Yeah." I played with a napkin. "Okay, so I'm makin' sense heah." He grinned, relieved. "Mm-hm." I couldn't look at him. The next part seemed like it was difficult to say-it was like he was going over it all carefully in his mind before verbalizing it. "...But now that he has Cassie..." he paused and I struggled to lift my eyes. "Now that they're togethah"- he coughed -"he finally sees what a relationship is-what it should be like." I slowly lifted them to see him gazing at me full-on. 'Okay........what is going on......?' 


	3. Always For Real

He wasn't frowning anymore; instead, the brows were neutral but the eyes showed desperation. His mouth slightly open, his breathing was audible.  
"So.uh.what do you think?"  
'What do I think? I think I wish I was Cassie and you were Vinnie!'  
"I think that's really accurate; I just hope I'm makin' Cassie come across the right way!" I laughed nervously and looked away. "Sometimes I feel like I'm butchering her character."  
"No, you're doin' a great job." His hand reached out and covered mine. "You're incredible."  
I stared at his hand over mine. My palms were sweating like mad, but I wondered if the gesture meant anything - I was inclined to believe that it did. 'What do I do?' I thought anxiously. 'I can't look at him..'  
But then he pulled away and I could feel my heart throbbing against my chest again. He was back to the nervous, pensive stage, and covered his mouth to cough.  
"Th-thanks." I finally looked him in the eye. He was leaning back in his chair, shifting uneasily.  
"You're welcome." Everything was uncomfortable again. I noticed that we were both finished eating. I stood up.  
"We all done here?" I started picking up my trash.  
"Oh, let me get that."  
I was still shaking a little as we were leaving the restaurant. 'So what happens now? Was that it?' I adjusted my purse angrily.  
"You okay?" He looked at me with one of those lovable quirky half- smiles he wore all the time when he was on camera.  
"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured, although it was a complete lie. 'Can't believe I actually thought something was going to come out of this.' I got in the car once again and slammed the door shut. Figuring that it would not be a good thing to let my anger and frustration get the best of me, though, I resolved to put on a good face until rehearsal started again. MAX put the key in the ignition and maneuvered the car out of the parking space and onto the main road. Meanwhile, my suppressed anger had turned to complete, hopeless misery. I kept my eyes down and sat still, waiting for one of us to talk again. If I had been watching MAX, I would have seen the sweat droplet running down the side of his face, and the way he kept wiping his hands on his pant legs.  
We eventually pulled into the studio parking lot once more. I was about to grab my purse and make a quick getaway, but just as I was reaching for the door handle, I felt his hand on my forearm.  
"Wait." His grip loosened as I turned in my seat and set my eyes on the nervously worried face across from me. The desperation was like none I had seen on it before. "Wait, just-just a minute," he sputtered. One loud breath escaped his lips before he continued.  
"Have you ever felt like.like Vinnie?"  
I paused. 'Where is this going?' "What do you mean?"  
He looked away quickly, then continued to stare. "What I mean is - have you ever been in meaningless relationships, then found the right person - and it just feels so great that you know they're gonna be good fa you?"  
I swallowed as the seagulls started up again. "Yeah, I have."  
"Really?" He breathed again. "Maybe you can help me, then."  
"Why could I help you?"  
"Because I have that feeling whenever I'm with you."  
Tension - release. A door had opened. "Really?" I breathed, grinning like a child. He was grinning, too. "Really."  
I let my purse fall to the floor. "Then we're both feeling the same thing."  
It was all in the open now; nothing to fear, nothing to hide; just pure, unadulterated feeling and declaration. He grinned playfully, looking at the floor before making his suggestion.  
"Would it be alright if I kissed you?" I nodded. So he leaned towards me, and holding the back of my neck, he kissed me. Bliss.  
I privately smiled to myself, thoughtfully replaying the day's events in my mind. As he pulled my closer, I could not think of anywhere else I would rather have been.  
  
"Oh-! Er.hi, guys," Sofie stuttered as we opened the trailer door, accidentally walking in on her and Aaron.  
"Sorry, Sof. Didn't mean to interrupt!" I couldn't contain my goofy grin. This day was just too amazing. "Hi, Aaron. How was your audition?"  
Aaron, still red-faced and with an arm around his girlfriend, turned to me. "It was great - I really hope they hire me. And I've worked with the director before, so I think I have a pretty good shot at landing something."  
Sofie slipped her little hand in his. "I know you will," she said supportively, kissing his cheek. Aaron blushed scarlet.  
"Okay, everybody, action in ten minutes!"  
"I'd bettah get to wardrobe." MAX gave me a tender look that said he was reluctant to leave me for those ten minutes. "Meetcha in five?"  
"Wardrobe?" I took his hand. His face lit up.  
"Anywhere you want," he answered. "I'll be there." After planting a peck kiss on my cheek, he left.  
"Yeah, I'd better go, too. Bye, babydoll!"  
"Bye, honey!" Sofie and I waved. When he was safely out of range, she took hold of my shoulders, planted me in the swivel chair, and gave me one of those looks that demands information. "Oh my God, what HAPPENED??!!"  
I couldn't stop smiling, so I began, talking through my teeth. "Well.you were right."  
"Well, duh!"  
"He took me to Roy Rogers -"  
"Aw! Your favorite!"  
"Yeah, I know! Isn't that sweet?" I sighed. She laughed and begged me to continue.  
"Well, he started talking about the character Vinnie, and I got worried because I thought maybe all he wanted to talk about was the show."  
She rolled her eyes. "Hon, it was so obvious all along. I can't believe you didn't figure it out until now! No matter what he was talkin' about in the restaurant, he's still gone fa you. But go on, keep goin'!"  
"Okay, well then we got back in the car, and I was kinda upset but I tried not to show it. He somehow knew something was wrong, though.he knows me so well!" Another sigh. Sofie started opening an eye shadow container. "Yeah, yeah, I gotcha.get to the good stuff!"  
"It happened in the car."  
Her eyes widened. "In the car, huh? He's a sly little suckah, ain't he?" She winked.  
"No, it wasn't like that, you goon! We didn't DO anything - he just - well, y'know, kissed me."  
She put a hand over her heart. "How romantic!"  
I still hadn't stopped smiling. "I know.I'm so happy."  
"And ya should be! Y'know, I feel the start of a very long and beautiful relationship coming on."  
  
"You ready?" He slid his hand behind my back as we were entering the soundstage.  
"Yup." I smiled up at him, grateful that I no longer had to be nervous before doing this kind of scene. Placing a hand on the back of his head, I whispered in his ear, "My lip's gonna be sore for a couple o' days.try to control yourself."  
He laughed, sweeping me up in his protective embrace. "So whadda ya say we do this for real?"  
I sighed internally, offering my one last comment. "With you, it's always been for real."  
  
.and roll credits 


End file.
